Dick Durbin looking to become retailers’ BFF

The Senate majority whip’s ability to push an online sales tax bill onto the congressional agenda showed once again that he has a knack for delivering on the retail industry’s top priorities by bypassing powerful committee chairmen and besting well-connected opponents like the banking lobby.

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This maneuvering has led to some grumbling from within his party, but Durbin argues his work on behalf of retailers is transforming Democrats’ relationship with a vital sector of the business community — a bond that will no doubt prove important during the tax and budget debates ahead.

“For the longest time, Democrats had very little to say to retailers who walked into their offices,” Durbin told POLITICO. “The conversations were cordial, and then came the issue of minimum wage and there was the end of the meeting. But now there’s a lot to talk about.”

He added: “We have a good story to tell. I think our party has been responsive to small businesses — particularly retailers — and I think they know it.”

The Senate is expected to pass the online sales tax bill on May 6.

Durbin first scored a major victory for retailers during the debate over the legislation that would become the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, when he successfully added a provision — now known as the Durbin amendment — to cap the amount banks could charge retailers each time a customer uses their debit card.

David French, a lobbyist for the National Retail Federation, said Durbin has become an “invaluable” asset to the industry.

“As he developed relationships on the swipe fee battle, he became much more of an advocate on other things,” French said. “He’s helping his colleagues find good bipartisan issues so they can show a pro-business credential to their constituents.”

Durbin’s critics — including some in his own party who have complained privately — say the moves have upended the desire among many lawmakers to return to regular order and are fueled by intense lobbying from the retail industry, which handed Durbin’s campaign committee $136,150 in 2012.

And of course, it’s not just small businesses stumping for Durbin’s latest bill, which would allow states to impose a sales tax on out-of-state online retailers. Big-box stores that feel they’re at a disadvantage to their online counterparts are furiously lobbying on the issue.

Sears, for instance, spent $560,000 during the first quarter lobbying Congress on issues including Durbin’s Marketplace Fairness Act. Best Buy spent $550,000 during the quarter and the lobbying bill at Lowe’s totaled $140,000.